Fury Of The Emperor
by ImperialFisted
Summary: The story of 1st Captain Justaerin Solkan, as he battles against Tau, Necrons, and worse during the Cleansing Of The Parrion Sector.  Enjoy.
1. Saviour

Fury of the Emperor:

The night sky over Ferrion III blazed with light as, like a meteor shower, the drop-pods descended. On the ground, the Tau occupiers waited nervously as Broadside battlesuits hammered at the fast-approaching pods with their cannon. One pod was hit, and exploded overhead, raining fire and shrapnel down on its killers. Moments later, the first drop-pods began slamming into the Tau lines. The lead pods doors clanged down and a figure charged out, followed by five more, firing into their foes. A fire warrior jerked back from the line as a bolter shell punched through his armour and pulverised his chest. Another was incinerated in a gout of burning promethium from the squad's flamer marine. The sergeant unsheathed an antique power sword, whilst firing towards the Tau lines with his plasma pistol.

Suddenly a voice sounded in his helmet vox."Knossos to all Imperial Fists" it said "All units commence attack pattern gamma-five."The sergeant turned to his squad and lowered his sword towards the enemy."Charge!"he cried, breaking into a run, his squad following suit. The Tau responded with a withering storm of fire. One marine was decapitated by a pulse round, and another lost an arm, but kept on coming, firing his bolter one-handed. Then the charge hit home, and Tau began to die. The sergeant hacked the legs from under a pathfinder and shot a kroot through the chest, as up and down the line, the other squads engaged the enemy. Another marine died, crushed by a Crisis suit, but his battle-brothers swiftly avenged him, riddling his killer with bolter fire at point-blank range. Suddenly, a huge tremor shook the earth, and an inhuman roarof bloodlust rent the air. Something huge was charging towards the Imperial Fists, battering Tau aside in its haste to reach them.

"A Greater Knarloc" breathed the sergeant. "Brothers" he called "Bring it down before it reaches us!" Around him, his squad took up firing positions, and opened fire as the huge kroot beast bore down upon them. Before any shots could tell, the knarloc was amongst them. It smashed one marine aside with enough force to cave in his armour, and bit a second in half with its enormous beak. As his squad died around him, the sergeant stepped forwards to do battle with the beast. He muttered a brief prayer to the Emperor, then raised his sword, bringing it crashing down onto the beast's flank, carving out a huge chunk of flesh. In response, the knarloc knocked him down with a clawed leg, pinning him in place with the other as it lowered its head towards him.

Completely unable to move, the sergeant began to pray, calmly commending his soul to the Emperor. The great head moved even closer, and the huge beak opened in anticipation. Suddenly, a bolter roared, and the knarloc's head snapped sideways. Slowly, ponderously, it began to fall, blood and brain matter leaking from its shattered skull. Painfully, the sergeant pulled himself to his feet, his right arm hanging limp and useless, and looked about for his saviour. He found him a few metres away, with his back turned as he fired an ornately crfted and heavily modified bolter at a group of fleeing Tau. He wore power armour of halved blue and green, with black robes over it. He turned at the sergeant's approach, revealing the beak of a MK IV helmet. The sergeant reached up and wrenched his own battered helmet off.

"What is your name, brother?" he called. Cold blue visor lenses regarded him. "I am Brother Kestare of the Sternguard, from the Fists of Retribution, brother-sergeant." "You saved me brother. My name is sergeant Tannion, of the Imperial Fists 4th Company, and I owe you a life-debt." The marine who had introduced himself as Kestare spun suddenly, loosing a tight grouping of bolt rounds into the chest of a Crisis suit, crumpling its armour like paper. He turned back to Tannion and said "Come with me. I expect the captain will want to debrief you." With that, he set off across the battlefield, Tannion close behind him, as the Imperial forces closed in on the battered remnants of the Tau army.

A few minutes later, the pair stood before the command post, a prefab bunker dropped into place by a low-flying Thunderhawk. Kestare punched a code into a keypad on the wall, and a door slid open to reveal the red-lit interior. "Inside" said Kestare. As Tannion dropped into the bunker, six armoured heads turned to stare at him. "Captain" said Kestare from behind him "He's a survivor from the assault. His squad was wiped out by what we think was a Greater Knarloc, which would confirm the scout's report." The captain, a tall, brooding figure in his armour, moved into the light. Two swords of clearly ancient design were sheathed by his sides, and his helmet was off, revealing a demi-visage of polished silver, modelled into a perfect facsimile of a flensed human skull. The right side of his face was deeply tanned, with a piercing green eye staring out from a dark socket. "Sergeant" he said, in a low, rasping voice. "I an 1st Captain Justaerin Solkan of the Fists of Retribution. Tell me, what killed your men?" The sergeant took a deep breath. " As far as I can tell, brother-captain, it was some kind of great kroot beast, the size of a tank. My brothers didn't stand a chance." He shook his head sadly. "Thank you sergeant" said Solkan. "I thought as much. You should return to your bretheren. Go with the Emperor." Tannion saluted. "May He watch over you, captain." So saying, he turned and marched from the command post.

Once Tannion had left, Solkan turned to his men and swore angrily. "God-Emperor damn him, Knossos is an idiot!" he cried suddenly. "What was he thinking, committing his entire force without conducting any scouting missions. Idiot!" he ranted. "I met him once before, you know" he went on "At the last Feast of Blades, when he was still a sergeant, and he was an idiot then. Do you remember him, Tancred?" he asked. "Aye" said one of the robed warriors. "He tried to get me to talk about Calypsus IX." "Gah! Brainless fool! How he ever made captain I'll never know" muttered Solkan. "The worst thing is I have to spend the entire fucking crusade saving his sorry arse on every damned planet we come to." He spat disgustedly. "Come on" he said "There's nothing more to be done here. Kestare, call up a Thunderhawk. I'm sick of this world." Then, still muttering angrily to himself, he turned and stalked out of the bunker, his marines close behind him.


	2. Later

904.M.41. Ferrion System:

The Thunderhawk gunship swooped in towards the huge bulk of the strike cruiser "Fist of Wrath" on its final approach, huge hangar doors grinding open to receive it. Onboard, 1st Captain Justaerin Solkan and his personal guard of Sternguard Veterans sat in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. As the gunship slipped into the hangar, they stood up and prepared to disembark. Solkan spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence. "Kestare, Kayox" he said "Come to my chambers in one hour. I would speak with you. Jotun, Dolion, Tancred, and Moiden will return to their quarters and see to their wargear." The marines all gave replies to the affirmative, then the docking clamps engaged and the front ramp clanged down, revealing Solkan and his squad striding out onto the hangar deck.

Two hours later, Sergeant Kayox and Brother Kestare arrived at Captain Solkan's spartan chambers, wearing simple grey robes in place of their armour. Solkan had not changed since he returned, and his swords were still sheathed by his sides. "So, brothers" he said as they entered. "Brother Moiden. Is he ready for advancement?" Kestare and Kayox looked at each other. "Honestly?" asked Kayox "Yes. Relistically, no. He's too young, the men won't accept him." It was an old debate. All through the six-week voyage, Solkan had argued with his men as to whether Brother Moiden was ready to become a segeant, despite his age. "One more battle" said Kestare. "Then we'll know if he's ready or not." Solkan smiled, and rubbed his organic eye. "Thank you, brothers. You are my conscience in all things, and you have my undying thanks for leaving my mind free to fight for the Emperor." Kayox inclined his head in acknowledgement, while Kestare merely smiled.

"Where do we go from here Captain?" asked Kayox. "To Pallas Tertius, a ragged little backwater at the arse-end of its system. Two suns, no water, argon-krypton atmosphere." said Solkan. "There's a mining outpost there, mostly neodomium for comms systems. It's a wonder the Tau survived long enough to dig in in the lower tunnels. That's where we'll meet them.""At last" said Kestare. "An Astartes-only operation. I dislike sharing the glory of our victories with the Guard." Kayox smiled. "The Guard have their uses" he replied "Even if they are only human." Solkan gave a snort of laughter at that, before dismissing them with a wave of his gauntleted hand, still laughing as he did so.

"So" he said to himself once he was alone. "Pallas Tertius is where Moiden will make his name, and where we can turn this crusade around if we take those mines." He sat down on his simple bed, and ran a hand over his hairless skull, his fingers rubbing over the divide between flesh and metal that ran down the centre of his head. He sighed, then picked up the dataslate and autoquill from his bedside table, and began to write his after-action report.


	3. New Arrivals

904.M.41. Pallas System:

The Fists of Retribution Strike Cruiser "Fist of Wrath" hung at low grav-anchor over the airless hell-world of Pallas Tertius, awaiting the arrival of the rest of the task force, and the assault on the Tau-held planet below. Alongside it lay the Imperial Fists Battlebarge "Gnaeus Caestu", the flagship of the overall commander of the Astartes portion of the Holy Crusade to cleanse the Parrion Sector from the Tau, Captain Knossos. Around the two mighty vessels, six Cobra-Class destroyers were arranged as a picket, ready to see off any attackers during the landings.

On the bridge of the "Fist of Wrath", 1st Captain Justaerin Solkan paced impatiently, wanting to commence the attack as soon as possible. Behind him stood the six members of his personal Sternguard unit, robed and armoured for battle. There was Sgt Kayox, tall and blond, unsmiling and severe. Behind him stood Brother Kestare, slim and quick-witted, with a grin on his face at something the massive Brother Jotun had just said. Next to Jotun, dwarfed by his bulk, stood Brother Tancred, dark and serious, his augmetic eye blazing from under the hood of his robes. To one side stood Moiden and Dolion, blood-brothers as well as battle-brothers, inseperable both on the field and off. Moiden was grim and serious, in the manner of Tancred or Kayox, whereas Dolion was cheerful and clever, though he fought like a tiger. Completing the group was Kaisan, a taciturn and solitary Techmarine, who was to accompany the invasion force to ensure that no harm came to the promethium mines and their valuable equipment.

Sudden flashes of light on the viewscreen caught Solkan's eye, and he stopped pacing as the rest of the taskforce slipped back into realspace. No less than six massive vessels made up the flotilla, each bearing the emblem of a different Chapter, and bristling with weapons. Runic identifiers flashed up one after another on the main screen, and Solkan read them off as they appeared. "Caspius Ioxian, Knights Angelic 5th Company" he said of one gun-heavy cruiser. "Good. Aesion's here." Suddenly he gave a gasp of surprise as a huge battlebarge hove into view, its prow fashioned into the shape of a snarling wolf's head. "The Bloodwolf" he breathed. "Praise the Emperor, the Space Wolves have come!" Four more ship icons followed, pronouncing the arrival of detachments from the Sable Swords, Oblivion Knights, White Panthers, and Black Templars.


	4. The Plan

**AN: Thanks to Mageguard for the favourite, it sounds cliched I know, but stuff like that really gives me the motivation to type the next chapters up. FOR THE EMPEROR!**

904.M.41. "Gnaeus Caestus", Pallas System:

The briefing chamber of the "Gnaeus Caestus" bustled with life as the commanders of the different Chapter forces and their retinues greeted each other for the first time. The entire Astartes taskforce had not assembled in one place before, having been spread throughout the Crusade. Solkan, clad in his battlegear instead of dress finery, spotted the Space Wolf commander, a rangy, lupine warrior with the pelts of several great wolves draped over his armour. The two marines met, and clasped each others' wrists in the warrior's grip. "Hail, brother" said the Space Wolf as he released Solkan's arm, revealing huge fangs. "I am Commander Kolbyr, of Njal Bloodwolf's Wolfguard. Solkan nodded his greeting. "Justaerin Solkan, 1st Captain of the Fists of Retribution."

Kolbyr looked around warily, then leaned in close to Solkan, and asked in a low voice "What do you think of Knossos then?"  
>"Truthfully?" asked Solkan. "He's a complete and utter fuckwit. I have no idea how he became one of us, let alone our leader."<br>Kolbyr let out a barking laugh. "Ha! I thought as much myself. Come with me."  
>With that, he turned and strode from the briefing chamber, pelts flapping. Solkan paused for a few seconds, unsure of what the Wolf wanted, before following him out.<p>

He found Kolbyr waiting in the antechamber, along with a younger-looking captain in the black armour of the Sable Swords.  
>"1st Captain Solkan" said Kolbyr "Meet Captain Xestre of the Sable Swords 3rd Company." Solkan held out his hand, and Xestre took it in a firm grip.<br>"Now, as we know" began Xestre without preamble "Our mission is to secure the neodomium mines and cleanse the Tau from this world."  
>He looked around the room, as if he was checking for eavesdroppers.<br>"Now here comes the bit that High Command didn't tell you. I only found this out by accident in my Chapter's Archivium, but way back in M.36, this world was used as a base by a group of Chaos sorcerers, believed to have been led by a great mage-lord of the Thousand Sons Legion named Ahotep the Terrible."  
>Kolbyr growled as he heard the name of his chapter's most hated foes. "Base traitors!" He snarled.<br>"That's not all" continued Xestre. "When the Ultramarines purged this place 5000 years ago, they discovered that Ahotep and his most senior lieutenants had escaped, by means of a hidden warp portal. When the Ultramarines found it in a secret cavern, it appeared to be inactive, so they sealed off the cavern and left." He surveyed the room once more, taking in the rapt attention on the faces of his companions.

"Now, though, the Tau are extending the mine workings, and they have almost reached the cavern. When it was sealed, an Ultramarines Librarian placed a great spell of binding upon the walls, to ensure that the gate would never again become active. If the Tau breach the cavern walls, the spell will be broken, and the portal could reopen at any time."  
>Solkan shuddered at the thought.<br>"Bones of Russ!" Swore Kolbyr. "That could lead to a full-scale daemonic incursion!"  
>The three captains looked at each other for a long moment, then Xestre spoke up again.<br>"If Knossos finds out, he will order the Exterminatus, which would almost certainly breach the cavern. I propose that we each lead a small strike-team to the planet immediately, either to destroy the portal or prevent the Tau from breaching the cavern during Knossos' assault. I know this is completely without recourse to the Codex Astartes, but the consequences of doing nothing are too horrible to contemplate. What say you two? Will you join me?"  
>"Aye" growled Kolbyr, panting like a wolf at the prospect of combat with the Thousand Sons.<br>"Captain Xestre" asked Solkan. "Will three small teams be enough to hold off an army and fulfill our objective?"  
>"They will have to be" said Kolbyr.<br>"Very well" said Solkan. "I'm in. We must make haste. I will give the order to launch the drop-pods in one hour. Go with the Emperor, brothers."  
>"And with you." Replied Xestre, whilst Kolbyr merely growled, fighting to overcome his bloodlust and hate.<p>

With that, the three warriors turned and departed, each to his own ship to prepare for the coming assault...

**AN: Next chapter it gets bloody. You have been warned...**


	5. The Spell Is Broken Part I

904.M.41. Pallas Tertius:

Captain Solkan roared his battle-cry as he spitted a Pathfinder on one of his blades, and disembowelled a Fire Warrior with the other. Behind him, the six Marines of his Sternguard Veteran squad formed a tight wedge, hosing the cavernous mine with bolter shells. To their left, Captain Xestre of the Sable Swords led his command squad through the melee, using his power sword with economical lethality, slitting throats and impaling visors as his Marines tore any survivors apart with chainswords and combat knives. From the right of Solkan's men came a bloodcurdling cacophony of wolfish howls as Commander Kolbyr charged into battle like a maddened grox, followed by no less than five bestial Wulfen, creatures more wolf than Space Marine, and two giant Fenrisian Wolves. As Kolbyr's charge hit the Tau line, Solkan saw bodies and body parts fly through the air, and sprays of arterial blood splattered across the huge cave as the Space Wolves tore through the Tau like a blade through rotten wood.  
>Then, as suddenly as the battle had begun, it ended. Solkan looked around. Tau corpses littered the floor, and blue viscera covered the living and the slain alike. Xestre led his squad over to join Solkan, his blade bloody, but his armour pristine. In contrast, Kolbyr looked positively daemonic, a he and his pack loped towards the others. He, his Wulfen, and even his wolves were slathered from head to toe in gore.<p>

Ahead of them stood a huge mining rig, its front end dominated by an enourmous array of plasma cutters and mining lasers.  
>"So" said Xestre. "Do we breach the cavern and destroy the gate, or do we hold here to stop the Tau from entering?"<br>"I say we..." began Solkan, but he was cut off as a missile streaked overhead and struck the flank of the mining rig, setting it ablaze. As one, the Marines turned to see where the missile had come from, and were shocked to see hundreds of Tau infantry, supported by Battlesuits, begin advancing menacingly towards them. Kolbyr threw back his head and howled, the sound reverberating around the mine. Seconds later, the wolves and Wulfen joined in, making a sound so terrifying in its promise of a horrible death that the Tau paused momentarily in their advance.  
>That moment was all the Space Marines needed.<p>

Bright explosions rippled through the Tau force as the Marines tossed grenade after grenade into their foes, killing dozens. The Tau returned fire desperately, and soon the air was filled with the whine of pulse rounds and the roar of bolter shells. The Tau were taking a horrific amount of punishment, yet uncharacteristically they came on, and Solkan could see that it would not be long before his tiny force was overwhelmed.  
>Suddenly, he spied a figure clad in robes instead of armour, standing atop a fallen Battlesuit, exhorting the Tau onwards. With a jolt, Solkan realised that it was an Ethereal, one of the Tau leader caste. He thought back to the training sermons concerning the Tau, and remembered that if he could kill the Ethereal then there was a good chance that the Tau would break and run.<br>"Brother Tancred!" he shouted. "Captain" replied Tancred as he joined Solkan, pulse rounds zipping past the scant cover available in the cavern. Quickly, Solkan pointed out the Ethereal, and explained his plan. Then he voxed Xestre and Kolbyr to make sure what he intended was possible. Tancred checked his bolter and nodded to Solkan. It was a long shot, but he knew he could make it. Solkan grinned.  
>"Now!" he yelled into the vox, and every Marine stood up from their cover, and opened fire on the Tau. With the Ethereal distracted by the storm of shells, Solkan nodded to Tancred, who stepped out of cover, paused for a second, then calmly put a bolter shell through the Ethereal's head at 300 metres. The robed figure collapsed in a heap, blue blood jetting from the stump of its neck where the shell had decapitated it.<p>

With the death of their leader, the morale of the Tau troops was destroyed, and they broke and fled in panic. Solkan turned to Tancred to congratulate him on his shot, but before he could speak he was thrown from his feet by a violent explosion behind him as the flames that had engulfed the mining rig reached its fuel tank. The blast vaporised a huge chunk of the cavern wall, sending up a veil of choking dust. When the air cleared, Solkan saw that the rig was a buckled, burning wreck, and realised with a surge of horror that the explosion had breached the sealed cavern. With the protective spell broken, the warp gate could reactivate at any moment.  
>"Kolbyr, Xestre!" he yelled. "Be ready to destroy the gate. The spell is broken!"<p>

As he shouted, he pulled himself up, and marched towards the ragged hole in the cavern wall, his squad behind him. A groaning Kolbyr joined him, blood running from a gash on his scalp, his skin pale above his rebreather. One of his Wulfen was gone, and another was limping badly. Xestre was unhurt, but his squad had fared much worse. Only two Marines still stood, one holding a smoking plasma gun, the other a grizzled old Apothecary, chainsword in hand. Ahead of them loomed the black mouth of the forbidden cavern. Solkan stepped forwards, and spoke up.  
>"Space Marines! What we face in there may be terrible. We may all die, but remember this: No man that died in the Emperor's service ever died in vain. The enemy shall know us and fear us, but we shall not falter, for we are the Emperor's Space Marines, and we shall know no fear!"<p>

To be continued...

**AN: Bloody enough for you? Don't worry, wherever Solkan goes, more death and destruction is sure to follow.**


	6. The Spell Is Broken Part II

**AN: Here it is, the final showdown between Solkan and...guess who?**

904.M.41. Pallas Tertius:

With Solkan's inspiring words still ringing in their ears, the Space Marines marched fearlessly into the ancient cavern, weapons ready. The chamber was a crude, low-ceilinged affair, dimly lit by luminous patches of mold on the walls. "Well" said Xestre, as they entered "How the hell do you propose we destroy that?" He pointed at the warp gate, a hateful thing set into the back wall of the chamber. It resembled a circle of blackened bone, with eight arrows radiating from it, and it emanated a powerful aura of ancient malice and hate.  
>"I don't know" said Solkan. "Grenades won't dent it, its too big. Maybe we could collapse the cavern around it though." He looked around thoughtfully. "Has anyone got any melta bombs?" he asked. In response, Xestre unhooked one from his belt, and handed it to Solkan, as did his plasma gunner. Solkan hefted one of his own, and gave the others to Sgt Kayox, and together they placed them at strategic points around the chamber,with the last bomb placed next to the gate.<br>"I've set the fuses for 30 minutes." said Solkan. "That should give us enough time to get back to the surface."  
>"That's cutting it damn fine" mused Xestre. "We had best be going or..." His words were lost in the sudden, hellish noise coming from the warp gate. To Solkan, it sounded like a thousand damned souls being tortured beyond sanity, as the howling scraped at his mind. The noise continued to rise in pitch and volume until it was an inaudible sonic roar. There was a sudden, blinding flash of light, then silence and darkness.<p>

As the Marines watched, the portal began to glow an eerie red, and suddenly, in a cloud of searing gases, Ahotep the Terrible stepped forth from the Warp for the first time in five millenia. He wore baroque power of blue and gold, covered with writhing symbols that hurt to look at. His helm had a high crest upon it, and a nimbus of dark power played about his head. In one hand he bore a huge, ancient glaive, engraved with hateful runes, and in the other was an archaic plasma pistol. Behind him, the warp gate pulsed again, and vomited five warriors of the Thousand Sons Legion back into reality.

Ahotep looked around, taking in the Marines ranged against him, and spoke in a voice which seemed to be many layered into one. "You fools have freed me from the warp. Now you shall pay the price for your idiocy."  
>"We will never allow you to leave this place, treacherous spawn of Magnus!" yelled Kolbyr. Ahotep looked at him, cold malevolence shining from his visor slits.<br>"Know this, Space Wolf" he spat. "I will make you suffer an eternity of torment for what you did to Prospero." The Space Marines steeled themselves as a green halo of light built up around Ahotep's glaive.  
>"Fire!" bellowed Solkan, and bolter fire roared through the chamber towards the traitors, but it had little effect, the high-calibre shells bouncing from the Thousand Sons' armour like rain. Xestre's plasma gunner took aim, and fired a gleaming bolt of nuclear fire at Ahotep, but the sorcerer stepped aside with inhuman speed, and the shot struck a chaos marine instead, blasting his torso apart in a fiery explosion. Ahotep realised the danger posed by the plasma gunner, and shot him in the chest with his pistol. The Marine's volatile weapon exploded as its ammunition ignited, incinerating the Sable Sword in a gout of blue fire. Another Thousand Son died, decapitated by Sgt Kayox's plasma pistol.<p>

At that moment, Kolbyr and his Wulfen let out a chorus of wild howls, and charged straight towards Ahotep, who dropped his still-recharging pistol and made a complex hand gesture towards the Space Wolves. Two of the Wulfen simply exploded in fountains of gore, and a third died as sorcerous fire appeared from nowhere and engulfed him. However, Kolbyr's wolves, and his last Wulfen still charged with their lord. One of the wolves leapt at Ahotep, who sliced it in half with a contemptuous flick of his glaive, then kicked the severed halves back at the Space Marines. The remaining wolf was blasted back by an invisible force with another gesture, but then Kolbyr and the Wulfen were upon the sorcerer. Ahotep ducked a swing from Kolbyr's axe, and punched his glaive into the Wulfen's chest, killing it instantly. He shook the corpse off his blade, and brought his boot round to catch Kolbyr in the chest, sending the Space Wolf flying through the air to slam into the rock wall with a sickening thud.

"Xestre!" yelled Solkan. "Get Kolbyr and get out! We'll hold them here!"  
>"No!" cried Xestre, impaling the last of Ahotep's warriors on his sword, before emptying the bolter on his combi-melta into his face. "You can't take him on your own. If we surround him, maybe we can bring him down! Come on!" With that, he charged Ahotep, Solkan and his men hard on his heels. Ahotep jabbed at Xestre, forcing him back, and Solkan dived into the fray, Brother Moiden at his side. Ahotep aimed a slash at Solkan's chest, and the Captain brought his swords up to block, but the blow never landed. Swift as a snake, Ahotep reversed his strike, spearing his glaive through Moiden's skull.<br>Solkan heard a bestial roar of rage behind him, and felt rather than saw Brother Dolion dive at Ahotep, enraged beyond reason at the death of his blood-brother. The sorcerer swung his weapon in a brutal arc, the butt catching the leaping Marine in the chest, sending him up into the low ceiling. Dolion crashed down to the ground, and lay unmoving.

Seeing this, Solkan realised that none of his squad could hope to stand against the traitor and live, so he shoved Kestare out of the melee, shouting "Get Xestre and Kolbyr, and the others out of here, I'll hold Ahotep!"  
>As Solkan turned back to the fight, Ahotep lashed out with his foot, sending him sprawling. Solkan tried to get back to his feet, but, the traitor smashed his legs from under him with the butt of his glaive.<br>"Now you die" sneered the sorcerer, as a green light built up around his gauntlet. He was so engrossed in his spell that he failed to notice a groggy Kolbyr haul himself upright, and begin stumbling towards him. Kolbyr saw the green glow increase, and knew that there was only one thing to do. He dropped his axe, drew his bolt pistol, and broke into a shambling run, heading straight for Ahotep.

Solkan desperately struggled to stand, but Ahotep's last blow had broken his leg, and he could not. The Thousand Sons sorcerer thrust his hand forwards, and a coiling green bolt of warp energies slashed through the air towards the prone Solkan. Suddenly, Kolbyr appeared from nowhere, diving between Ahotep and Solkan with a roar. The bolt struck him squarely in the chest, melting through his armour and flesh in an instant. However, even as he fell, Kolbyr snapped off a shot with his pistol. The shell hit the traitor's shoulder pad, spinning him off-balance. Solkan saw his chance and took it, hurling both his swords at Ahotep with unerring accuracy. The blades struck the sorcerer in the chest with such force that the tips punched straight through his breastplate and out of his backpack, impaling him to the wall.

As conciousness faded from Solkan's battered body, he saw Xestre stride back into the chamber, alone. He walked over to Ahotep, and placed the barrel of his combi-melta against the trapped traitor's head.  
>"I will end you!" raged Ahotep. Xestre shook his head.<br>"No" he said. "I am the end." He pulled the trigger, and Ahotep's head and shoulders vanished in subatomic fire. The last thing Solkan saw was Xestre plucking his swords from the traitor's headless corpse, and turn towards him. He tried to speak, but a cool blackness washed over him, and he knew no more...

**AN: Wow, that lasted longer than I expected. I'm sorry about Kolbyr, but he had to die. However, Solkan will be back soon...**


	7. Misunderstanding Part I

904.M.41. Pallas System:

On the bridge of the battlebarge "Gnaeus Caestus", Captain Gaius Lucius Knossos of the Imperial Fists raged maniacally at his senior segeants.  
>"Treachery!" he screamed "Betrayal, vile deception, and treachery! How dare that bastard Solkan ignore my orders to wait? He is a traitor, a damned heretic!" He glowered about him, fists clenched for a second, before resuming his tirade. "And as for that upstart Xestre, and that fucking halfbreed wolf-man" he shook his head in disgust. "What else can they be but traitors as well? Helmsman!" he cried. "Bring the fleet into a holding pattern around the <em>Fist Of Wrath, Bloodwolf, <em>and _Dark Sabre_. Gunnery control, arm and target their engines. Fire on my command."  
>Suddenly, a servitor trundled up behind him. "Lord" it said, in a flat, mechanical voice. "We have unexpected arrivals in Teleporter Bay 2."<br>"Shit!" swore Knossos. He switched his vox-channel to cover the whole ship. "This is Knossos to all Imperial Fists. We have intruders in Teleporter Bay 2, presumed to be traitors. Set up a perimeter around that compartment, Containment Pattern Sigma 4. I'm on my way."  
>Hurriedly clamping on his helmet, he ran from the bridge, his honour guard of veteran Terminators behind him.<p>

**AN: Guess who's back?**


	8. Misunderstanding Part II

904.M.41. Pallus System:

Captain Xestre felt a great sense of relief as his teleporter beacon activated, transporting the survivors of his mission to safety as the mine collapsed around them. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring down the barrel of an Imperial Fists' bolter.  
>"What the..." he began, but the Marine jabbed the bolter forwards. "Lose the weapons, heretic." he said, contempt dripping from his every syllable. "And tell the others to do the same."<br>Reluctantly, Xestre put down his combi-melta and power sword, and motioned to the others to do the same. Solkan's five remaining Sternguard lay their unconcious leader on the deck, and dropped their bolters. Xestre's Apothecary continued to work on the supine forms of Solkan and Kolbyr, whilst Kolbyr's last Fenrisian Wolf stood by its master, tail between its legs.  
>The Imperial Fist waved the rest of his squad forwards, keeping them covered as they collected the band's weapons.<p>

At that moment, Captain Knossos burst into the room, his Terminators behind him. "I have you now, traitors!" he snarled. Xestre took a step forwards, and a score of bolters swung to target him. He raised his hands to show that he meant no harm, and said "Knossos! Have you gone mad? What are you doing? We are not traitors."  
>Knossos laughed. "Ha! Nice try, Xestre, but we have your vox-logs. We know everything. How you plotted in secret against me, how you re-opened that warp gate, how you..."<br>"You're wrong!" cried Xestre. "We didn't open the gate, we destroyed it, damn you! How can you not see that, you stuck-up, pig-headed, arrogant bastard!"  
>Knossos turned away. "Take them to the brig." he said. "We will deal with them when the Inquisitor arrives." The Imperial Fists closed in, and the band were dragged away...<p>

**AN: Sorry about the short chapters, I'm revising for my GCSE's in between typing sessions. I never knew how much of a dick Knossos would turn out to be, but he'll get what's coming to him...**


	9. The Reckoning

904.M.41. Pallas System:

After two days in the brig, Kolbyr finally died, despite the desperate ministrations of Xestre's Apothecary, Xiron. Solkan had recovered enough to stand, his superhuman body having already healed his broken leg, and he raged at their jailors as they dragged the Space Wolf's corpse away, but got no response. The next day, the Inquisitor arrived.

The prisoners had their weapons returned, without ammunition, and were escorted from their cells to the briefing chamber, where a makeshift court had been set up. Knossos was there, standing next to a Black Templars Captain who Solkan didn't recognise. Chaplain Mortes stood in a corner, representing the Oblivion Knights. On the other side of the chamber stood three warriors who Solkan hoped would support him. Icius Aesion of the Knights Angelic was a trusted comrade, Kalus Darkclaw of the White Panthers would surely see the tactical sense of his actions, and Kolbyr's replacement, a huge bear of a Marine called Hrald Krakenbane, had already voiced his support for Solkan.

The eight defendants were marched into the centre of the room, to stand before a great desk of pale wood. All eyes turned to regard the door as the Inquisitor entered. He was a huge man, almost Astartes-sized, with cropped black hair and blue eyes set in a stern face. He wore ceremonial dress uniform for the occasion, with a cloak of red silk trailing behind him. He took his place behind the desk, and looked around him. "I am Inquisitor Lazarus Gizae of the Ordo Malleus, and I truly regret that my presence is required here. Captain Solkan, Captain Xestre, you are here to answer for your actions on Pallas Tertius." he said. "As are Brothers Xiron, Kestare, Jotun, Tancred, and Dolion, and Sergeant Kayox."

"I would like to know" said Aesion suddenly "On whose authority you are doing this, _Captain _Knossos? Does _1st Captain _Solkan not outrank you?"  
>Knossos leapt to his feet. "You dare question my authority?" he yelled, flecks of spittle flying from his lips.<br>"Sit down and shut up, Knossos, before you embarrass your Chapter further" said Solkan. He turned to face Gizae. "Inquisitor. This is a waste of time. You have our vox-logs, you have Xestre's after action report, you know what happened, what we fought down there. This trial is Knossos' way of getting back at us for not telling him our intentions." he turned back to Aesion. "And yes, old friend, you are right. Knossos has no authority over me, and as the ranking officer here I propose we scrap this ridiculous mockery of a trial, and relieve Captain Knossos of command, as he is clearly not in his right mind. I nominate Captain Aesion of the Knights Angelic to replace him."

"Stop him, damn you Givae!" screamed Knossos. "Are you just going to sit there and let him get away with this?"  
>Givae smiled. "Nothing I can do about it, I'm afraid. He <em>does<em> outrank you, and technically even the Inquisition has no judiciary power over internal Adeptes Astartes affairs. Sorry."  
>"Solkan!" roared Knossos. "I challenge you, you bastard! You will not take my command from me! Fight me, here and now, you jumped-up little fuck!"<br>One of his bodyguards tossed him a monstrous broadsword, of ancient design. In response, Solkan drew his blades, and flipped them deftly around in his hands. He smiled. "Bring it on, Knossos, but I warn you now. If you do this, you _will_ die."  
>Knossos roared in anger and charged at him, but Solkan danced to the left, lashing out with his right-hand sword, tearing a shallow gash in his foe's scalp. Mad with pain, and half-blinded by blood, Knossos swung his heavy blade in a deadly arc. Solkan swayed backwards, the tip of Knossos' sword passing inches from his breastplate. Knossos recovered quickly, swinging his sword down towards Solkan's head. The 1st Captain's blades became blurs of motion as he caught the blow on his left blade, before bringing the pommel of his second sword crashing down to snap the trapped weapon like a twig.<p>

Knossos howled in fury as he broke away, holding his truncated blade, and Solkan came after him. His left sword whistled in, and as Knossos desperately parried he swung hard with the right, severing Knossos' sword hand at the wrist. Blood fountained from the stump, spraying Solkan before the Larraman Cells clotted the wound. Knossos screamed, and looked up from his maimed arm to find Solkan's blades an inch from his throat. "Yield" said Solkan. "Never!" cried Knossos, stumbling forwards to attack. Solkan sidestepped easily, then lashed backwards without even looking, decapitating Knossos with brutal efficiency. The dead warrior took a few faltering steps, then fell to the deck with a mighty crash. Solkan sheathed his swords and bowed. He wasn't even sweating.

A roar of anger went up from the Imperial Fists in the chamber, many of whom trained their weapons on Solkan. "Well" he said. "Looks like this is Aesion's Crusade now. The Fists Of Retribution are returning to Mundus Aquus, to celebrate our victory over Ahotep and his foul kin." He turned to Xestre and Krakenbane. "And I would be greatly honoured if you would join me."  
>Xestre bowed. "It would be my honour."<br>Krakenbane grinned. "Aye. We will toast the memory of my predecessor in the finest Fenrisian ale."

With that, the three warriors and their retinues marched out. As he walked back to the shuttle that would take him to the "Fist of Wrath", Solkan smiled. "Finally" he said to himself "I'm going home."...

**AN: Did you see that coming? I didn't at first. Fear not, Solkan will return, and soon...**


	10. Actions And Consequences

**This is sooo undignified, feel free to skip it if you want. I just thought that if Fenrisian ale can get a Space Marine drunk, what would he be like?**

905.M.41. Mundus Aquus:

The great meeting-hall of the Fists of Retribution's underground fortress-monastery echoed to the sounds of laughter an feasting, as warriors and friends from three different Chapters boasted and talked and drank. At the high table, 1st Captain Justaerin Solkan relaxed with two of his greatest friends, Captain Kel Xestre of the Sable Swords, and Commander Hrald Krakenbane of the Space Wolves. Krakenbane's presence was a bittersweet one for Solkan and Xestre, as they had both known and liked his predecessor, Commander Kolbyr, who had died saving Solkan from the sorcerer Ahotep the Terrible below Pallas Tertius. Although Krakenbane was a trusted comrade and a good friend, he was not Kolbyr, and could never hope to replace him in Solkan's hearts and mind.  
>However, at that precise moment, none of the Space Marines in the hall were in any position to think such thoughts, as Krakenbane had supplied the drink for the feast. It was Fenrisian ale, containing the notoriously potent herb known as Ribaldroot, which was the only substance in the galaxy with the power to overcome the Ootlic Kindey, and get a Space Marine drunk. Only Krakenbane and his Space Wolves, with their genetic resistance and drinking experience, could stand with any degree of certainty.<br>Solkan was slumped sidways in his chair, giggling helplessly at an obscene joke Krakenbane had just told him, involving an Ork, an Eldar, and a small potted cactus from Tallarn, whilst beside him, Xestre belted out the battle-hymn of his Chapter. The last thing Solkan remembered before he slipped into unconciousness was joining in, despite knowing none of the words...

Solkan awoke to pain, truly hellish pain. He groaned, and tried to feel for the mortal wound he was sure he had received, but his arms were suddenly too heavy to move. Instead, he opened his eyes, wincing at the unbearably bright light, to find the hall in a state of severe disrepair. Bodies lay everywhere, and a great pool of spilled beer had gathered in the centre of the room. Beside him, Xestre stirred.  
>"Oh, fuck me" he moaned. "Tell me I didn't sing the..."<br>Solkan turned his head painfully to regard him. "Yes" he said. "Yes you did. All thirty verses."  
>Xestre grimaced, and covered his face with his hands. "Damn Krakenbane and his booze. Where <em>is <em>Krakenbane, anyway?" He said.  
>At that moment, the great doors crashed open, and a booming voice rang out. "Wake up, sleepyheads! Did you miss me?" cried Krakenbane, as he picked his way around unconcious marines to where Solkan and Xestre lay, his words provoking a fresh chorus of oaths and cries of pain. In his hands were two steaming tankards of a glowing blue substance.<br>"There you are!" he shouted.  
>"Not so loud" said Xestre in a small voice. Solkan glowered up at Krakenbane. "You poisoned us" he grunted.<br>"Drink this" said the Space Wolf. "It'll make you feel better."  
>Xestre looked at the mug in disgust. "I don't need more alcohol, I need a fucking Apothecary, you bastard!" he growled. Krakenbane just chuckled. "Drink up" he said. "I've just been sent to wake you. You're all needed at an emergency War Council meeting in the Grand Temple in twenty minutes. Believe me, that stuff is the only way you'll make it."<br>He grinned, showing his fangs. Solkan sipped at his drink, grimacing at the foul taste. Then he pinched his nose and downed the liquid, before rising unsteadily to his feet. Behind him, Krakenbane helped Xestre to his feet, and pressed the tankard into his hands.  
>"Right then" said Solkan weakly. "Let's go and see what all the fuss is about then." With that, he staggered from the hall, followed by Krakenbane and the barely-concious Xestre, who clutched his empty mug like a drowning man clutches a lifeline.<p>

**AN: Sorry if you just lost all respect for me as an author, the next chapter will be back to normal, I promise. On another note, I'm looking for a betareader for this story and another 40K fic I'm working on. PM me if you're interested.**


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